Flights Delayed Due to iPad Glitch

April 29, 2015 — Several American Airlines flights were delayed when the pilots’ airline-issued iPads crashed. An internal investigation by American Airlines revealed that the cause of the malfunction was an app made by the Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen, which contains maps of various airport facilities. A new version of a runway map for the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was uploaded in the app and it conflicted with an older version of the map in the pilots’ iPads.

The iPad has become a standard in American Airlines cockpits since 2013 when it replaced the usual 35-lbs flight bag pilots are required to carry in flight containing manuals, flight plas, and reference materials. Dubbed the “electronic kit bag,” it holds the more than 3,000-pages of paper previously carried by every pilot and instructor.

Although no flights have been cancelled, the delays inconvenienced passengers in Dallas, New York, and Chicago. The pilots were immediately notified how to fix the glitch and work around it.